What made me happy today? Harry Potter!
I have always loved books. I learned to read pretty early, and loved (still love) reading. Books offered me an escape from this world. I've hinted at it before, but I'm a big Harry Potter fan. Wondering how that happened? Well, let me tell you :-)
It's the late 90s. I was a teenager at that time, having a bit of a rough time in school, as I felt like I didn't have any real friends. That got better, but that might be a story for another day. My mom had bought a book for my sister, thinking she'd like it. It was about a boy, living under the stairs at his horrible aunt and uncle's. Then he finds out he's a wizard. My sister didn't care for it at all. I had read Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz, and noted some similarities. So I decided to give the book a try. If you're guessing I'm talking about 'Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone' you're absolutely right. I loved it. As soon as I found out there were more books, I dragged my mother to the store to get them. The last two books I read in English, because I couldn't wait for the Dutch translation :-)
I've also mentioned before that I cry rather easily when watching or reading something emotional. I don't think I ever cried harder than when *spoiler alert* Dumbledore was killed. Or when Snape confessed his undying love for Lily ("After all this time?" "Always.") Or when Dobby dies. I could go on, but I won't. I'm also not going to elaborate on which scenes are my favorites, as there's way too many to list (McGonagall giggling like a little schoolgirl after using the 'piertotum locomotor' spell, Molly Weasley yelling 'that's my daughter you b*tch' and killing Bellatrix, Harry riding on Buckbeack for the first time, etc.).
But why is this my happy thing of the day? Because I stumbled across a few brilliant Harry Potter related posts:
- Harry's bitchy face
- What happened after the books
- Some rare illustrations
- The Harry Potter alphabet
- Harry Potter ink
- Harry Potter tumblr
Enjoy, until the very end.
All was well.
Always.
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Books, books, books!
What made me happy today? Books, books, books!
Since my trip to London, I'm surrounded by books I still have to read. I love books. Ever since I was young, I've loved to read. It's my favorite way to spend a rainy evening inside. On the couch, with a cup of tea, under my blanket, curled up with a good book. You might even say I'm addicted to them!
Just in case you were wondering: this is my favorite book at the moment :-)
Since my trip to London, I'm surrounded by books I still have to read. I love books. Ever since I was young, I've loved to read. It's my favorite way to spend a rainy evening inside. On the couch, with a cup of tea, under my blanket, curled up with a good book. You might even say I'm addicted to them!
Just in case you were wondering: this is my favorite book at the moment :-)
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The fault in our stars
What made me happy today? The fault in our stars.
I while ago I did a post about a new Youtube channel I discovered. Turns out that John Green (one of the people behind mental floss) writes books as well. I now he mentioned it some Youtube videos, but I hadn't really given it much thought until I saw that the background picture for the Adult Nerdfighter group contains a quote from a book written by... John Green! The quote is 'I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once', from the fault in our stars. This piqued my curiosity and whilst on vacation I decided to check out this book.
Wow. What a book. To say it with the words of Bernard Black: you'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll change your life. Okay, it didn't change my life that much except for the massive book-hangover. But I laughed more than once. And if you're on the sensitive side, you may want to keep a box of tissues nearby. I bawled my eyes out more than once when reading this book.
And I have to hand it to John Green: even though this book deals with a rather heavy subject (cancer in kids/teenagers), it never becomes overly preachy or whiny or something like that. Nope, he manages to keep a nice pace going and tells a fantastic story. No worries, no spoilers this time!
So all I can say is: head on over to your local bookstore and grab a copy of the fault in our stars. Stop by the supermarket on your way home to buy some tissues though... You can thank me later!
Oh, and a big thank you to the Adult Nerdfighters, without them it might have taken me way longer to find and read this book!
I while ago I did a post about a new Youtube channel I discovered. Turns out that John Green (one of the people behind mental floss) writes books as well. I now he mentioned it some Youtube videos, but I hadn't really given it much thought until I saw that the background picture for the Adult Nerdfighter group contains a quote from a book written by... John Green! The quote is 'I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once', from the fault in our stars. This piqued my curiosity and whilst on vacation I decided to check out this book.
Wow. What a book. To say it with the words of Bernard Black: you'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll change your life. Okay, it didn't change my life that much except for the massive book-hangover. But I laughed more than once. And if you're on the sensitive side, you may want to keep a box of tissues nearby. I bawled my eyes out more than once when reading this book.
And I have to hand it to John Green: even though this book deals with a rather heavy subject (cancer in kids/teenagers), it never becomes overly preachy or whiny or something like that. Nope, he manages to keep a nice pace going and tells a fantastic story. No worries, no spoilers this time!
So all I can say is: head on over to your local bookstore and grab a copy of the fault in our stars. Stop by the supermarket on your way home to buy some tissues though... You can thank me later!
Oh, and a big thank you to the Adult Nerdfighters, without them it might have taken me way longer to find and read this book!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Switzerland
What made me happy today? I had an awesome vacation in Switzerland!
We left on Saturday morning, around 6 AM. Blah indeed. The trip seemed to take forever. It was hot, and there was some traffic. But the BF and I had loads of fun in the car :-) And when we arrived in Vissoie, it was all worth it. The view from the cabin was just breathtaking!
I'm not going to bore you with a detailed story of what we did and where we went, I'm just going to give you the highlights.
-How to keep your drinks cool, Swiss style:
-Raclette, locally made!
-Hiking up a mountain (700m ascent), to that white building you can see at the top:
-I was so proud for doing it, even though I looked like hell:
-But it was all worth it, because they served an amazing blueberry pie!
-And we did a hike towards a glacier!
-No, you're not allowed to swim here.
-Really not! (this lake feeds a huge reservoir which is used for hydro-electricity. They open up valves as needed, so it's not smart to swim here. And you'd freeze as well, the glacier feeds this lake directly)
-Edelweiss!
-Real Swiss cheese fondue (so tasty, this one was with two kinds of mushrooms)
-The best chips in the world :-)
It was a lot of fun. I got a lot of reading done as well, had some fantastic quality time with my BF and his parents, saw some amazing sights, celebrated the Swiss national holiday with fireworks and got a bit of a tan! Too bad it all went by so fast!
We left on Saturday morning, around 6 AM. Blah indeed. The trip seemed to take forever. It was hot, and there was some traffic. But the BF and I had loads of fun in the car :-) And when we arrived in Vissoie, it was all worth it. The view from the cabin was just breathtaking!
I'm not going to bore you with a detailed story of what we did and where we went, I'm just going to give you the highlights.
-How to keep your drinks cool, Swiss style:
-Raclette, locally made!
-Hiking up a mountain (700m ascent), to that white building you can see at the top:
-I was so proud for doing it, even though I looked like hell:
-But it was all worth it, because they served an amazing blueberry pie!
-And we did a hike towards a glacier!
-No, you're not allowed to swim here.
-Really not! (this lake feeds a huge reservoir which is used for hydro-electricity. They open up valves as needed, so it's not smart to swim here. And you'd freeze as well, the glacier feeds this lake directly)
-Edelweiss!
-Real Swiss cheese fondue (so tasty, this one was with two kinds of mushrooms)
-The best chips in the world :-)
It was a lot of fun. I got a lot of reading done as well, had some fantastic quality time with my BF and his parents, saw some amazing sights, celebrated the Swiss national holiday with fireworks and got a bit of a tan! Too bad it all went by so fast!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Cure
What made me happy today? Cure!
Not the band 'the Cure', although I like them a lot. No, I didn't find a cure for anything either. I'm talking about the 2010 book 'Cure' by Robin Cook.
I love to read. A lot. And this weekend I finally got around to finishing it!
Robin Cook, for those of you who never heard of him, writes what can best be described as medical thrillers. Although I have to say that in recent years, he's been moving away from the pure medical thriller. Which I can understand, as the medical field evolves quite rapidly, and that gives his books a rather big chance of becoming outdated. Especially when being read by someone working in the medical field. But that does not mean his boks are bad in any way! Even the old ones are great to read.
Cure is a very good book. It takes a while for the story to get going, but the end is well worth it. A real page-turner too! No spoilers, grab a copy at your local bookstore or library and see (read) for yourself!
Not the band 'the Cure', although I like them a lot. No, I didn't find a cure for anything either. I'm talking about the 2010 book 'Cure' by Robin Cook.
I love to read. A lot. And this weekend I finally got around to finishing it!
Robin Cook, for those of you who never heard of him, writes what can best be described as medical thrillers. Although I have to say that in recent years, he's been moving away from the pure medical thriller. Which I can understand, as the medical field evolves quite rapidly, and that gives his books a rather big chance of becoming outdated. Especially when being read by someone working in the medical field. But that does not mean his boks are bad in any way! Even the old ones are great to read.
Cure is a very good book. It takes a while for the story to get going, but the end is well worth it. A real page-turner too! No spoilers, grab a copy at your local bookstore or library and see (read) for yourself!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Bank holiday
What made me happy today? Having a perfect day off!
Today's a Bank holiday in Belgium, which means no work! Having a day off during the week is always nice, but it's even nicer when you can have fun :-)
Last night I went to the BF, who cooked dinner for me. Nothing fancy, but still very tasty pasta with cheese sauce. After that we watched Laputa: castle in the sky, another must-see anime movie from Studio Ghibli. This 1986 movie is directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who made a ton of amazing anime and manga.
I woke up pretty early this morning, I'm not always a great sleeper and decided to finally start reading Philip K. Dick's 'the man in the high castle'. It's a shame I never got around to reading this sooner, as this 1962 book is a classic. It portrays a world in which Germany defeated Russia and Japan defeated the USA in the second World War. I got half-way through before it was time to get some chores done. Ah, the joys of adult life ;-)
And to finish off this day I'm going to have my new favorite food for dinner, followed by some episodes of Castle.
Hope your day was as great as mine!
Today's a Bank holiday in Belgium, which means no work! Having a day off during the week is always nice, but it's even nicer when you can have fun :-)
Last night I went to the BF, who cooked dinner for me. Nothing fancy, but still very tasty pasta with cheese sauce. After that we watched Laputa: castle in the sky, another must-see anime movie from Studio Ghibli. This 1986 movie is directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who made a ton of amazing anime and manga.
I woke up pretty early this morning, I'm not always a great sleeper and decided to finally start reading Philip K. Dick's 'the man in the high castle'. It's a shame I never got around to reading this sooner, as this 1962 book is a classic. It portrays a world in which Germany defeated Russia and Japan defeated the USA in the second World War. I got half-way through before it was time to get some chores done. Ah, the joys of adult life ;-)
And to finish off this day I'm going to have my new favorite food for dinner, followed by some episodes of Castle.
Hope your day was as great as mine!
Monday, March 11, 2013
So long and thanks for all the fish!
What made me happy today? It's Douglas Adams' birthday!
The Google Doodle in his honor is really great. Too bad he can't see it himself...
I like books. A lot. I love to read, and dive into another world completely. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my all-time favorite books. I regularly read it again. If you haven't read it yet, and you like science-fiction comedy, make sure to pick up a copy at your local bookstore or library.
Or if you don't like reading but don't want to miss out, you can always go to your local dvd rental store or media store and pick up a copy of the 2005 movie. It has Alan Rickman in it! (you know, the guy who plays Snape in the harry Potter movies).
Too bad Douglas Adams left this world too soon. But I'd like to add that I did particularly 'And Another Thing...' by Eoin Colfer. To me, this book seems like the perfect sixth part for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy :-)
The Google Doodle in his honor is really great. Too bad he can't see it himself...
I like books. A lot. I love to read, and dive into another world completely. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my all-time favorite books. I regularly read it again. If you haven't read it yet, and you like science-fiction comedy, make sure to pick up a copy at your local bookstore or library.
Or if you don't like reading but don't want to miss out, you can always go to your local dvd rental store or media store and pick up a copy of the 2005 movie. It has Alan Rickman in it! (you know, the guy who plays Snape in the harry Potter movies).
Too bad Douglas Adams left this world too soon. But I'd like to add that I did particularly 'And Another Thing...' by Eoin Colfer. To me, this book seems like the perfect sixth part for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy :-)
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